Have you ever gone to Scripture when you felt depressed, but did not know where to turn to find passages on depression? I find the Psalms are a good place to start because they express the full gamut of life experiences and emotions, including depression. While there are many Psalms that speak to Christians struggling with despondency, Psalm 77 is one that is especially rich in that it shows us how a distraught sufferer worked through his depression in prayer and came out on the other side renewed.
Psalm 77 was written by the Psalmist, Asaph, and it was intended to be a community lament to bring comfort and encouragement to the nation of Israel while they were suffering in captivity. The psalm was also intended to be a personal lament to downcast individuals, who were part of the nation of Israel in exile, and for anyone who is going through a desperate time of trouble.
Walking Through The Dark Night Of The Soul
Anyone who has walked through the “dark night of the soul,” when things are bleak and God seems absent, can relate to what Asaph is experiencing. One can also appreciate the honesty with which Asaph cries out to God. He does not grumble like the Israelites in the wilderness and or complain about God to others; rather, he goes to the only one who can reach into the deepest vestiges of his soul, relieve his anguish, and renew his spirit.
In verse 2 Asaph cries out to God with untiring hands and has clearly been crying out in distress for a long time. But his soul still refuses to be comforted and he cannot sleep. He remembers God and all he can do is groan. He is so distraught that he even charges God with keeping him from sleeping. Asaph writes, “I remembered my songs in the night,” when his circumstances were so bright that he sang with joy, but this thought now seems to further torment him.
Asaph then muses and his spirit inquires of God. He begins to ask God a series of tough and haunting questions:
Will he reject me forever?
Has his unfailing love vanished forever?
Has his promise failed for all time?
Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?
Asaph feels spurned by God, unloved, abandoned, judged, and punished. Yet, the very act of asking these questions has great therapeutic value because it only confirms what he already knows, that God could never forget his steadfast love and the promises he has pledged to his covenant people.
Then in verse 10 things change, there is a turning point, and we see the clouds part and rays of hope pierce the darkness. The tenor of the psalm changes from lament to remembrance, and remembrance to worship as Asaph resolves to focus on all the ways God has revealed himself in power in the past. He writes, “To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High.” One commentator described this as, “An exultant act of worship, recalling the miracles of salvation.” [i]
Remembering God’s Miracles and Mighty Deeds
The psalmist then remembers the “miracles, works and mighty deeds” (v. 11-12). Then in verse 13 Asaph trumpets God’s holiness, “Your ways, O God, are holy. What God is as great as our God?” The holy ways of God pertain to what he has done on behalf of his people, whom he has redeemed and consecrated to himself. The word “holy” is a phrase in Hebrew, which could be explained as a reference to his sanctuary. In this context holy is a formidable word conveying the aspect of God as one who “dwells in inapproachable light,” fearful as an enemy but glorious as a friend.[ii]
Throughout the remainder of the psalm, the psalmist recites countless deeds of redemption that God has done with his mighty arm on behalf of his people. In dramatic imagery he describes the plagues, the Exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea. Yet, throughout all of God’s mighty acts, the Israelites did not see God’s footprints. He was unseen and his ways were mysterious and beyond human understanding. The psalm ends not with a worshipful crescendo but with God quietly leading his people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. God’s footprints were not seen but flesh and blood men led them with God’s direction.
Remembrance of Things Past
The remembrance of things past was deeply woven into the culture of Israel. A Hebrew was called to walk, as it were, backwards into the future, always keeping an eye on the past through the festivals and meditation on God’s law and acts.[iii] God’s people were constantly encouraged to remember all the mighty deeds of power and grace God had done for them in the past. They were then to interpret their present circumstances in light of them. When the people remembered God and meditated on his deeds, they were revived and responded with wholehearted devotion. But when they forgot, they became disheartened and wandered away from him. God knew that his people are prone to forget, so he constantly reminded them of his deeds in Scripture and songs. He also gave them signs, memorials, special observances and festivals to celebrate with the intention of prompting their memories.
In Exodus, the Feast of the Passover commemorates the final plague on Egypt when the firstborn of the Egyptians died but the Israelites were spared because blood was smeared on their doorposts (Ex.12).
Moses and Aaron led Israel, by hand, out from Egypt in the Exodus. In an awesome show of power and might God leads them through the Red Sea while the Egyptians who followed them were swallowed up. To remember their redemption from slavery in Egypt God commanded them to keep the Sabbath day (Deut. 5:15).
In Psalm 77 Asaph remembered God’s deeds of power and grace in the Exodus by reading Scripture. But with the coming of Jesus, we as Christians have even more to remember because we have more Scripture, the New Testament. We remember the Incarnation, Jesus’ words and deeds, his death, resurrection, the powerful work of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and the consummation of the age.
For the faithful, Jesus Christ’s life on earth was the seminal event in all human history and we remember the events of Jesus’ life in many different ways. One way is by partaking in the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Jesus Christ inaugurated his ministry by being baptized (Matt. 3:15-17). Even though Jesus needed no repentance or cleansing, his baptism signified his identification with the sinful people he came to save through his substitutionary life and death (2 Cor. 5:21).[iv] In baptism, a believer remembers Jesus’ sacrifice on his behalf. At the end of Jesus’ ministry he and his disciples celebrated the Lord’s Supper, a meal that looks back to Passover. This celebration pointed to his impending death as the sacrificial lamb whose blood was shed to save man from God’s judgment. Today we partake of the Table “in remembrance of him” (Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24-26).
Another way we remember Christ is by commemorating meaningful days in Christ’s life. We celebrate Jesus’ birth with a Christmas holiday and feast. We remember Jesus’ death and resurrection with Good Friday and Easter services usually followed by a joyous celebratory meal. We also remember Pentecost each year after Easter.
These joyful celebrations are a foretaste of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb when we believers will be Christ’s bride, and we will celebrate with him the final victory (Rev 19:68) and the consummation of the age.
The renowned pastor, David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, wrote, “I say that we must talk to ourselves instead of allowing “ourselves” to talk to us!”[v] What he meant was exactly what Asaph found out, working the truth of God’s word down into your own hearts and remembering what God has done in the past can transform our hearts. When we talk to ourselves, deliberately telling ourselves what we need to hear, in a direct and forceful way, rather than listening to whatever comes into our minds, can be transforming. Unbelief can turn to faith, despondency to joy, and spirits can be renewed.
Depression Therapy Can Make a Real Difference
If you are downcast and no longer able to manage on your own, depression therapy can make a real difference. Every day, I have the privilege of walking alongside people just like you as they find renewed hope and relief in an atmosphere of gentleness, compassion, and grace. Together we will seek to understand the physiological and spiritual factors that may be contributing to your depression and develop practical strategies to address them. You will learn to recognize the messages you are telling yourself and replace debilitating thought patterns with ones that are truthful, life-giving, and grounded in reality. We will work together to bring clarity, insight and wisdom to the challenges you face in your relationships and daily life. We will also evaluate how you’re caring for your body and identify meaningful changes in areas such as sleep, nutrition, exercise and other habits that influence emotional well-being. If faith is important to you, we can explore how to deepen your relationship with God, enrich your devotional life, and draw strength from the hope and comfort found in Scripture.
Please contact me for more information or to book a free 15-minute consultation at 973-464-2759. You will not regret it.
[i] Rev. Derek Kidner, Psalms 73-150, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois pg. 278
[ii] Rev. Derek Kidner pg. 279
[iii] Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, IVP Academic, Downer’s Grove, Ill, 1998, pg 702.
[iv] ESV Study Bible, pg. .1825
[v] John Piper, Battling Unbelief, Multnomah Books, Colorado Springs, Co, 2007, pg. 126